The federal tax credit for heat pumps ended on December 31, 2025. If you install a mini split in 2026, there is no 25C credit for it. Most of what you will read online about a $2,000 federal heat pump credit was written before the law changed and is now wrong. Here is what actually remains, and how to find the part that applies to you.
The federal credits are gone
Two credits used to matter for a mini split purchase. Both were terminated by Public Law 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025.
| Credit | What it covered | Status for 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 25C, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit | Up to $2,000 for a qualifying heat pump | Ended. Property placed in service after December 31, 2025 does not qualify. |
| 25D, Residential Clean Energy Credit | Solar, batteries, geothermal | Ended. Expenditures after December 31, 2025 do not qualify. |
Section 70505 of that law replaced the credit's previous 2032 end date with a termination "after December 31, 2025." The IRS confirms the same date in its guidance on the bill and on its own 25C page.
If you installed before the deadline, you may still be able to claim it. The test is when the property was placed in service, not when you bought it or when you file. A system placed in service in 2025 is claimed on your 2025 return. Talk to a tax preparer about your specific timing - we publish specifications, not tax advice.
Why you will find contradictory information - including on IRS.gov
This is worth knowing before you go looking.
Some pages on the IRS site still contain the older language about the credit running through 2032 or 2033, left over from before the law changed. Manufacturer pages, contractor sites, and rebate roundups written in 2024 and 2025 still advertise the $2,000 credit. None of that has been maliciously written; it simply predates the change and has not been updated.
So "I saw it on an official page" is not, by itself, reliable here. The controlling documents are the public law text and the IRS guidance issued specifically about that law - both linked at the bottom of this page.
What is still available: state and utility programs
Federal money is gone, but state programs and individual electric utilities still pay for heat pumps. These are smaller than the old federal credit - typically $150 to $400 - with two large exceptions for income-qualified households, where the amounts are substantial.
Note the scale honestly: a $200 utility rebate is a real discount, but it does not replace a $2,000 credit. Budget for the full installed cost and treat a rebate as a reduction, not a plan. Our installation cost estimator gives you the number to start from.
Income-qualified programs (the large ones)
These come from federal IRA money that was already allocated to states, which is why they survived when the tax credits did not. They are administered state by state, so availability depends entirely on where you live and whether your state has launched its program.
California - HEEHRA, through the California Energy Commission and TECH Clean California. Up to $8,000 for households under 80% of area median income, up to $4,000 for 80-150% AMI. Requires a TECH-certified contractor, and the project must have an approved reservation before you buy or install anything. Funding is limited and varies by region.
New York - NYSERDA EmPower+, including the federal HEAR rebate, with a heat pump maximum of $8,000 for income-eligible households. Starts with a home energy assessment; your contractor determines eligibility before work begins.
Utility rebates (smaller, but widely available)
Texas - CPS Energy, serving San Antonio, pays $90 to $310 per cooling ton for a heat pump or ductless mini split, scaled by efficiency tier. Requires a Texas-licensed HVAC contractor, and a San Antonio permit number inside city limits. There is no verified statewide Texas program - this is a municipal utility offering.
Pennsylvania - PECO pays $150 to $300 for a ductless mini split heat pump, by efficiency tier, plus up to $50 for maintenance. You must be a PECO electric customer. For purchases or installations on or after June 1, 2026, the application must arrive within 90 days.
Florida - FPL pays $200 per qualifying HVAC unit, but single-zone mini splits are specifically excluded from the program, along with window units. If you are installing one ductless head in Florida under FPL, this rebate does not apply to you. That exclusion is in FPL's own program standards, and it is the kind of detail that turns a rebate you were counting on into a denied application.
The trap that catches DIY buyers
Most of these programs require professional installation, which makes a self-installed system ineligible.
Of the five programs above, four state a contractor requirement outright: California requires a TECH-certified and HEEHRA-trained installer, Texas requires a licensed Texas HVAC contractor, Florida requires an FPL Participating Independent Contractor, and New York runs eligibility through the contractor doing the assessment.
This matters because the DIY path is genuinely attractive on price - a pre-charged, quick-connect system can save thousands in labor. But if you install it yourself, you are usually giving up the rebate at the same time. That may still be the right call; DIY savings frequently exceed a $200 rebate. Just make the trade knowingly instead of discovering it on a rejected application. Our DIY vs professional installation guide walks the rest of that decision.
The second trap is timing. California requires approval before purchase. PECO requires the application within 90 days after. A rebate you qualified for on paper is routinely lost by applying at the wrong moment.
How to find what applies to you
We deliberately do not maintain a fifty-state rebate table. Utility programs change amounts and eligibility mid-year, and a stale table would do exactly what the outdated federal information above does to everyone else.
Instead, check these in order:
- Your electric utility's website. Search the utility's name plus "rebate." This is where most available money is, and it is specific to your service territory - not your state.
- Your state energy office, for IRA-funded HEAR or HOMES programs. These are income-qualified and run state by state.
- DSIRE (dsireusa.org), a database of state and local incentives maintained by NC State University.
- Confirm eligibility before you buy, especially the contractor requirement and any pre-approval step.
Ask each program three questions: does it cover ductless mini splits specifically, does it require a licensed installer, and does it require approval before purchase. Those three answers determine whether the money is really available to you.
Sources
- Public Law 119-21 - Sec. 70505, terminating 25C
- IRS guidance on the One Big Beautiful Bill
- IRS - Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit
- DOE Home Energy Rebates
- California Energy Commission - residential energy rebates
- NYSERDA EmPower+
- CPS Energy HVAC rebates
- PECO heating and cooling rebates
- FPL residential HVAC program standards
Verified July 20, 2026. This page describes programs and tax law that change; confirm current terms with the program itself before making a purchase decision. We publish equipment data, not tax advice.